Sihlalo, mangibonge kuMntwana uMangethe. [Chairperson, I would like to thank the hon Mangethe.]
It has been reported by the Moral Regeneration Movement, MRM, that they are steadily making inroads into the social disintegration among the youth. To achieve this, the Moral Regeneration Movement engages young people in social dialogues that address various issues such as social integration and the role of families in moulding social values.
In order to gauge the true extent of the overall impact of the MRM programme, the Department of Arts and Culture has commissioned a formal evaluation. The outcomes of this review will enable us to share evidence- based details of the success of the MRM in this regard, including areas requiring improvement.
Having said this, I wish to remind all hon members that reversing the social disintegration of the youth is a collective responsibility which should never be outsourced solely to teachers, government or any other nongovernmental organisation. Disintegration begins at home and, therefore, reintegration should first happen there as well. We have a responsibility to nurture our children and guide them as they enter adulthood and make life-altering decisions. It all begins with you and me. I thank you.
Chairperson, could the Deputy President tell us whether government and/or the Moral Regeneration Movement have a view on, one, the impact of the 3,1 million unemployed young South Africans on social integration; two, the appropriateness of National Treasury's proposed youth wage subsidy, which was expected to create half a million youth jobs in two years; and, three, the fact that Treasury's promised discussion document on the policy is now more than two months late. Thank you.
Chairperson, in an endeavour to instil or inculcate positive values that seek to build rather than to destroy, morally and otherwise, the Moral Regeneration Movement engages with youth across the board; it does not only target the 3 million unemployed youth. Therefore, as I said, the review will indicate in detail to us whether they are succeeding or not.
With regard to the subsidy that was announced by the Minister of Finance, that is work in progress. He is still working on how it is going to be implemented. Therefore I am unable to give you a detailed response in that regard since it is work in progress from his side. That takes care of the third part of the question as well. Thank you.
Chairperson, I think the hon Deputy President was quite right when he said that this whole process starts with each one of us. In that light, would the hon Deputy President agree with me that, with regard to the moral degeneration of the youth, the prevalence of single-parent households is an issue that needs to be dealt with?
Chairperson, well, you know, these are moral issues. Some of the single parents are occasioned by the misdemeanours of adults who are taking advantage of younger people, including the learners. Our efforts should, really, be targeted at ensuring that no child in our country is denied the opportunity to develop into a wholesome and responsible human being simply because of the mistakes of the parents or parent. That should be the focus of our efforts.
The extent of the phenomenon of single parents reflects the deeper problem in our society, and I think we should address it. Let me just use an illustration. Let's say one has a toothache that causes an abscess. If the dentist tells that individual that his or her tooth is rotten and should be extracted, the dentist will first ensure that he or she treats the abscess before extracting the rotten tooth, whereas the main problem is the rotten tooth. Therefore we must also ensure that children of single parents are not prejudiced in any way.
We must address the needs of children of single parents and give them the love and support they deserve. The reason for this is that amongst them there might perhaps be someone who could be the captain of Bafana Bafana in the near future. We must deal with whatever circumstances might have occasioned the delivery of that child.
In other words, the parent should be given support as well if he or she is someone who can still be assisted in the manner I described earlier on. We should allow that because, if the single parent becomes a good citizen, we will all end up with a happier nation. I thank you.
Action taken against members of the executive who fail to respond to written parliamentary questions
12. Mr R A Lees (DA) asked the Deputy President:
(1) Whether he has taken any action against members of the executive who fail to respond to written parliamentary questions of members of the National Council of Provinces; if not, why not; if so, (a) what are the relevant details and (b) when is it envisaged that responses to these outstanding questions will be received;
(2) whether the prompt and adequate response to written questions has been included in the performance contracts of members of the executive; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? CO254E
Hon Chairperson and hon Lees, as I have reported in the National Assembly, I'm concerned about the number of unanswered questions in both Houses of Parliament. Ministers had to report to me regarding the reasons for their failure to reply to a number of questions posed last year and indicate the steps that they were going to take to ensure that this did not reoccur. From this exercise, it became apparent that in certain cases capacity could be improved.
I table a report at each Cabinet meeting on the number of unanswered questions in both Houses. At the request of the Speaker of the National Assembly, I've also written to all Ministers with regard to unanswered questions from the first term. As Ministers are directly accountable to Parliament, it is also up to the House to discuss measures it should take to ensure that questions are answered.
The issue of responding to parliamentary questions was not included in the performance contracts of members of the executive, but it is a matter that could be considered when the performance contracts are reviewed next year. I've reason to believe that this issue is being addressed, and that very soon we will have fewer instances of questions remaining unanswered beyond due dates. Thank you.
Hon Chairperson, regarding the second part of the question, could the hon Deputy President tell us what was the rationale behind the decision not to sign performance agreement contracts with Deputy Ministers?
Hon Chairperson, this was the first time that performance contracts were signed with Ministers. Twelve outcomes were identified, and those serve as a basis for the performance contracts. What I'm saying is that these contracts are going to be reviewed annually. If the measures that are introduced to try and get questions responded to do not produce the desired results, then it is quite possible that we could include it as a 13th outcome. It would then find its way into the new contracts.
For now, we are confident that there is already a marked improvement in a number of Ministries. The outstanding questions aren't too many, and we now try to keep a clean sheet. There are Ministries that are still struggling. We've also noted that where directors-general are involved in ensuring that questions are responded to, there's a marked improvement, and we're trying to get all Ministries to learn from that experience. Thank you.
Hon Chairperson, the reason I stood up is that I wanted to say that the Deputy President has answered all my follow-up questions. That's why I have been so quiet and did not ask any questions. [Interjections.]
Hon Chairperson, further arising out of the hon Deputy President's reply, I just want to know if the office of the Deputy President is prepared to make performance contracts of the executive available to the public as well?
Hon Chairperson, the contracts are actually between Ministers and the President. I only sign as a witness to the fact that the parties are entering into a contract.
This question has been put to the President before. He did say that, at the right time, he will make them available to the public.
See also QUESTIONS AND REPLIES.